1. Abundant Rice Production—Changhua Rice Granary

Rice, as a staple food for Taiwanese people, and rice and rice-based snacks are part of daily life. However, many rice products and more broadly defined pastry products belong to festive customs and important life events. Rice is not just a daily diet but also a spiritually significant food.
During the Qing Dynasty, the Babao Canal, as the earliest large-scale irrigation facility in Taiwan, contributed greatly to agriculture in Changhua County, fostering prosperity in the Lukang area and earning the nickname "Mother of Changhua."

2. Port—Lively Lukang

Lukang was a vital port in central Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty, thriving in commerce and earning the nickname "One Fu, Two Lu, Three Monga." At that time, Lukang's commercial prosperity led to a golden age of culture and arts. "In the winding lane, the wind doesn't reach; in the Shi-Yi Building, scholars leisurely compose poetry." The Shi-Yi Building in Lukang is a place suitable for poetry, painting, and tea.

3. Temples—Food for the Gods

In ancient times, turtles were offered as sacrificial offerings to ancestor. However, as live turtles became scarce, turtle-shaped rice cakes, red turtle cakes gradually replaced them and have been used ever since. Only "cakes" can be placed on the altar!
During the Lunar New Year, red turtle cakes are offered in religious ceremonies. In the past, making cakes was mainly for ancestral worship during festivals, reflecting the intertwining of rice and daily life in religious rituals. Lukang has more than 300 temples, with diverse beliefs among people. Religious rituals and superstitions have become an integral part of folk customs. Despite Lukang's close to the ocean, heavy military defense during the martial law period isolated people from the sea. Turtles, aquatic creatures that should have been unfamiliar to everyone, became a daily food for Lukang residents. Of course, this turtle is not a real turtle; Lukang residents simply use it as a symbol of auspiciousness, longevity, and good fortune in worship, gift-giving, and consumption.